Will Jeff Hornacek Be Puppet or Puppeteer for Phil Jackson, NY Knicks?
Give New York Knicks team president Phil Jackson this: The man knows how to cast smokescreens.
In what can only be described as a shocking turn of events, the Knicks are just about set to hire former Phoenix Suns head coach Jeff Hornacek as their next sideline-ambler, according to Bleacher Report's Howard Beck.
Nothing is official, but a source tells Beck it's only a matter of time before that changes:
For Jackson's next trick, he will now mostly, or wholly, bury his loyalty to the triangle offense. He has to...right?
Or does he expect Hornacek—like Derek Fisher and Kurt Rambis before him—to be the next malleable vessel through which he imparts his own agenda?
The Knicks have been linked to Jackson's battle-tested (battle-scarred?) system since he grabbed the franchise's reins in March 2014. And he essentially canned Fisher, a branch off his own coaching tree, because the first-time head honcho didn't properly utilize the various triangle resources, including Jackson, at his disposal.
Hence why Fisher's now-temporary replacement, Rambis, was considered the favorite to land this gig. He has deep-seated ties to the triangle, and Jackson closed the 2015-16 campaign driving his bandwagon.
Even as Jackson expanded his coaching search in recent weeks, interviewing higher-profile candidates like David Blatt, Frank Vogel and Hornacek, it seemed unlikely, if impossible, that he would hire anyone other than Rambis—especially after Golden State Warriors assistant Luke Walton, another triangle disciple, agreed to become head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers.
"Jackson wants the Knicks to run the triangle and even held a two-day triangle seminar a week after the season for approximately 10 players," the New York Daily News' Frank Isola wrote. "Jackson cannot handle the physical demands of coaching an 82-game season, but he believes he can have a greater influence on the team by having Rambis, who shares his vision and philosophy, in charge."
Hiring Hornacek represents a sudden, and unanticipated, about-face.
Or does it?
Consider what Beck noted back in February:
Any ties to Jackson, however loose, suggest compliance with his motives. And Hornacek, unlike Rambis, is someone who allows the "Zen Master" to win the press conference.
Peruse Twitter, and it becomes clear he's already conquering public perception. There's this from ESPN.com's Zach Lowe:
And this from NBC Sports' Kurt Helin:
Viewed in this light, Hornacek is just another puppet, albeit one who stands a better chance of inoculating Jackson against further invective.
Only, Hornacek's arrival cannot solely be seen through that scope. He is not new to the coaching game. And despite the mutual respect shared between him and Jackson, he is not another triangle loyalist. He has his own style, his own offensive principles.
And for what it's worth, Jeff Van Gundy believes he'll get a chance to leave his imprint, per SiriusXM NBA Radio's Noah Coslov:
This is a big step for the Knicks and Jackson, if true. Hornacek's Suns pushed the pace and chucked threes. They deployed smaller lineups. They were allergic to long twos.
Just look at the disparities between Phoenix under Hornacek and New York's squads:
| Knicks (2014-2016) | 20.6 | 22 | 92.3 | 28 |
| Suns (2013-2016) | 25.3 | 9 | 96.9 | 3 |
Those Hornacek teams were never religiously committed to pick-and-rolls, but they ran substantially more than Jackson's Knicks.
Last season, operating mostly within Hornacek's offensive constructs, the Suns finished possessions with pick-and-rolls more than 22 percent of the time. Though that ranked in the bottom 10 of the league, the Knicks finished 29th in total pick-and-roll usage, going to them on just over 16 percent of their offensive sets.
To see if Hornacek really has control of New York's on-court product, we must first see the results of his arrival, because this unexpected entrance alone isn't enough.
The Knicks need to play faster. They need to shoot more threes. Their guards must have the freedom to attack the basket. Kristaps Porzingis needs to play more center, beside Carmelo Anthony at the 4, with three other shooters surrounding them.
In the end, New York must look like a team fit to play in today's NBA, exhibiting minimal, if any, allegiance to the triangle offense.
Then, and only then, can we be absolutely sure that Hornacek is more than just another strategically placed minion carrying out Jackson's vision.
Stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com unless otherwise cited. Salary information via Basketball Insiders.
Dan Favale covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @danfavale.
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